Educational Measures
by Jishka SmoAce
Summary: Portgas D. Ace is forced to changed schools midterm, thanks to his family. Not happy with the situation at all, will his new teachers and possible new friends make his situation better? SmoAce, yaoi
1. Prologue

Title: Educational Measures  
><span>Rating:<span> K+ (for now, M in later chapters)  
><span>Word count<span>: 2.678  
><span>Warnings:<span> yaoi, AU, humor, school, drama, romance, WIP  
><span>Author's note:<span> Yeah I wanted to write a school fic _' given the environment the characters will be about 3-4 years younger than in the original series  
>I would like to hear what you think about the story, so leave comments! They also motivate me to write faster!<br>Summary:Portgas D. Ace, adoptive grandson of Monkey D. Garp and big brother extraordinaire was forced to changed schools midterm, thanks to his family. Not happy with the situation at all, will his new teachers and possible new friends make his situation better? Or is it possible that it only get worse?

Disclaimer: I don't make money with my fics and I don't own One Piece or any of the characters they all belong to Oda-sensei, but I have a lot of fun using them C:

I will update as soon as I have all background information I need (and time and inspiration to write it :'D)

**Educational ****Measures**

**Prologue **

_- __New starts, insane relatives and __sexy__ grumpy teachers - _

Cramped, loud and unpleasant, these were his first impressions of his surroundings. Deafening murmurs sounded through the hallways of the old school building. They echoed from the bleak walls a few times before they were replaced by other sounds. Students were running over the worn linoleum floor towards the stairs or the large double glass doors to reach temporary freedom on the courtyard. Shouts and laughter could be heard from everywhere and the few teachers in the halls simply ignored the noisy chaos, in order to get their coffee or a quick smoke before the next lesson started.

Dragging his feet, Ace was walking a few feet behind his family. The tanned teenager regarded the unfriendly environment with some displeasure. He hated it here already. Three months had passed since the new school year had begun, and he had been looking forward for the first parties, his friends and he had wanted to attend. Shit. They had wanted to go to the beach, drink alcohol on mass and flirt with the hot babes in their tiny little bikinis… And then things happened and now he was stuck here.

Despite the warm, sunny summer day outside, the corridors were dim and cold with a soft draft playing around his ankles. The whole building smelt faintly of strong cleaning powder, floor wax and the humans strolling through it. Here, in the third floor he could also smell chemicals mingling with the other scents.

"And finally, this is our chemistry wing!"

His grandfather stated. Duh~ really? As if they weren't able to read the signs on the doors. The kid rolled his eyes.

"WOAH! That is so cool! Don't ya think, Ace?"

Luffy, his younger brother beamed brightly. The lanky boy stood beside their gramps, black eyes shining with excitement. What should be cool about this place, please? The whole building looked like it was in for a major restoration. The walls needed to be painted; their off white and yellow colour was sullied with footprints, dirt and more than a few graffiti. Not to mention the heavy steel doors that were separating the halls from the stairways and were also put between the single wings. What was this house? Some kind of prison? Not to mention that the school was in some small backwater town in the middle of nowhere and not near the beach or his friends. But okay, his little brother was easy to please after all… Since their gramps had told them that they could eat for free in the school cafeteria, the younger boy was all in for their new school.

The taller sibling watched his brother and grandfather chatting idly with each other, both of them grinning stupidly at some lame joke the old man had made. They had been looking at monotone corridors forever and by now the break was over again. Pupils and teachers were heading to their classes, talking with each other, joking or simply pushing others around in a friendly manner. What a strange group. Ace looked at them: it seemed that all the freaks had been collected in the country and had been thrown in here…

"Ace look! I am Superman!"

Luffy had managed to climb on a windowsill and was now standing on it. The brown curtain draped around his thin shoulders, the black-haired boy was striking a pose. A small smile curled around the corners of the older one's lips at the thin teen's antics. The grin broke out fully, when their gramps batted his large fist on the young adolescence's head. Shouting loudly, Monkey D. Garp started chasing his laughing grandson of the long corridor. People turned their head to them, most of the scholars knew about their teacher's behaviour by now of course, but they still wondered about the youngster who was chased by the grey-haired professor. Bored, Ace looked after them. It was a normal sight for him after all.

Really, this was all so tiresome. Not to mention, that the dull colours around him and the gloominess of the hallway were frustrating. He needed to escape somehow and if it was only for a few minutes. Looking around to make sure that no one was watching him, the freckled teen sneaked back to the flight of stairs. Here he hesitated for a moment. Should he go downstairs to chill on the courtyard or upstairs, hmmm where to go? With a shrug he opted for the roof, it really didn't matter after all, but at least he would have a decent view from there. Hell, maybe he would get a cell phone connection for once! Thus he started climbing the set of steps.

He didn't make it far. Just when he had mounted half of the first flight a large hand on his shoulder pulled him back. Tripping, the youngster lost his footing and stumbled back. Slightly panicked Ace gripped for the first thing in his reach to catch his fall. But instead of the stair-rail, his hands fastened upon broad shoulders. Face to face with a wide expanse of chest, he could more feel than hear the other man's growling voice.

"And where do you think you're going? Roof's off-limit, as you should know."

The deep voices vibrated through his body and scratched his nerves, oh boy. This could only mean trouble. This close the youngster could smell the big man's scent of sandalwood, some aftershave and cigar smoke, which surrounded him like a cloud. Slightly light headed the teen looked up.

"Ma~ I am sorry! I' m new here and got lost?"

He threw his most charming smile at the white-haired bloke before him. Weird. The man could only be in his early thirties, so why did he have white hair? Come to think about it, all about the man seemed to be washed-out, the pale skin and the ice-grey eyes that were currently glaring at him, obviously not impressed by the youth's charms. The whole albino thing should have crept Ace out, but he was too fixated getting out of this situation, to actual care about the pale colouring. Besides it wasn't looking wrong on the guy.

"New? Why is there a new student in the middle of the term, and why wasn't the teacher's council informed?"

Came the deep growl again:

"Ehmm…"

Shit his gramps must have forgotten to register them here.

"Hmpf… doesn't matter. Name?"

"Portgas D. Ace."

He grinned pleasantly at the older, who just gave him a stern look. Ugh, grumpy that one. He tried a slightly more demure tone.

"Portgas D Ace, sir?"

The big teacher nodded curtly.

"I'm Smoker. So tell me, why did you change schools in the first place? Troublemaker who had been thrown out of his old one?"

That got the white haired man a glare out of amber eyes. What the fuck, okay so Ace was a bit of a trouble maker, but not half as bad as Luffy was. Besides he had always (fake) proof that he hadn't to do anything with the latest happenings.

"Nope. My father got in some kind of trouble. So gramps… ehm professor Garp took my brother and me in his care. That's why I'm here."

The educator blinked a few times:

"You are Garp's grandson?"

"Yes."

"Then your father is Monkey D. Dragon, who had been arrested for protesting against the church's behaviour concerning the treatment of child molesters?"

There was a snide snort from the tanned lad:

"If you call walking stalk naked in front of a church, trying to get under the nun's robes protesting. Then yes he had been imprisoned for that."

Okay that wasn't the way Garp had told them the story. But given the brat's nonchalant way of telling him this, he was tempted to believe the kid more then his co-worker. Okay he never believed Garp anything anyway. The older man was far too… idiotic for the lack of a better description to be taken serious. He opened his mouth to tell the teen his mind, when a loud explosion interrupted him. The banging sound swelled in the silence of the corridors and filled the tilted stairway, before it died away. Warm air reached the two males and they could feel the blast's pressure wave pressing against their bodies:

"Oh not again…"

Ace starred open mouthed at the older man, whom didn't really seemed concerned with the thick, black smock coming from the third floor, or the students running down the stairs to save their lives. With an ear-piercing shriek the fire alarm went loose, the sound painful to the ears, but effective to get anybody's attention:

"Again? Does such thing happen often here?"

"Oh only every second day or so… Ah Shanks!"

With that he waved a red haired adult over to them, who were watching the whole scenario from a floor below. Ace looked at the man. He seemed to be slightly older than Smoker and had three parallel scars running over his left eyes. He could have been a real looker if not for his hilarious cloths, the teacher, as Ace assumed he was, was clad in Bermuda shorts, sandals and a really bright Hawaii shirt. The male on the other hand looked the teenager up and down approvingly, practically undressing the tanned kid with his eyes. Grinning, the redhead joined them and put an arm around the adolescent, before he pulled him close while talking to his colleague.

"Yo Smoker! Don't you wanna help escorting the scholars to the courtyard?"

Black eyes landed on the freckled youth with a hungry gleam in them:

"And who is this pretty little thing?"

The teacher winked at the black haired youngster, a busy hand sneaking towards the younger one's bum:

"No, I have to look after Tashigi… Oh and that's Garp's grandson, so…"

The white haired man let his voice trail off in a dark rumble; thankfully the mention of their eccentric co-worker was enough to make Shanks release the handsome boy as if burned. Smoker took some satisfaction in that, he wasn't pleased with his colleague touching their students so freely and the freckled boy wasn't an exception to that.

"Shanks bring him down to the patio, will you? And you! I'll let you off with a warning this time… but only because I've more important things to do right now. So behave and follow professor Shanks, understood brat?"

With that the broad-shouldered man turned around and left Ace alone with the flirty teacher and a rather nice few of a taut, jeans clad ass. Before he truly realized what he had been just thinking, the student was pulled away by the happily chatting tutor, who guided the lad downstairs. From above they could here a few more, minor detonations and the raven-haired teen even imagined that he could here Smoker's deep growling voice amongst them.

"So tell me sweetie… I thought that Garp's grandson is Luffy, funny little fellow by the way. Is he here too?"

The tanned student crinkled his freckled nose in irritation at the belittlement but answered none the less.

"Luff's my little brother. And if you'll do that…"

He shot a pointed look to the arm, which was still put around his shoulders:

"…or anything else to him, I'll break your hands, teacher or not. Clear?"

He hissed, glaring at the older man. The grin on the scared face only widened.

"Oh my, you're a feisty one aren't you? I like that! But dun worry hon, I'll see the little rugrat as some kind of adoptive brother, so no harm will be done to him. You on the other hand, are quite… ahahahah letmegoIamsorryjustletme…"

The older man lent in close until their faces nearly touched. Then tears shot into his eyes, when the tall youth took a little bit of skin from the back of Shanks' hand between his fingertips and twisted his fingers fitfully, pinching the skin hard. With an expression that was a cross between boredom and irritation, Ace used that grip to remove the bothersome arm from his shoulders. He was giving a damn about the fact that he twisted the tutor's limb painfully, while doing so. When he had freed himself from the offending touch, the freckled youngster released the man and stepped a few feet aside, bringing some save distance between them

The redhead nursed his aching hand with teary eyes. Damn the kid had spunk! Breathing soothingly on the sore, red spot he looked at the smirking teen with a pout. Cheeky rascal. But his appearance sure was worth the trouble. With a wide smile he closed in again. He started patting the tanned youngster's back, ignoring the angry looks from those amber eyes. Hmm those eyes remembered him of someone… who was it? It must… WHACK! The hit on the back of his head caught him off guard. Stumbling a few steps forward he nearly managed to land on Portgas. Unfortunately the kid sidestepped him with a smirk and so the teacher landed face down on the hard concrete floor.

"Redhead… what did we tell you about molesting our students?"

Ugh. Damn it Mihawk had found him. Rubbing his head he looked at the other professor with a pout on his usual smiling lips. The man with the goatee just regarded him with a cold look out from gold shining eyes. Oh right this were the eyes he remembered. A bit embarrassed by the situation Shanks started talking quickly, attempting to find an excuse for his behaviour. Arms crossed, Ace watched the two interact. The other man was letting the red haired male's endless babble wash over him without really taking notice of it. Instead he stared at the boy, trying to classify him.

"Hn. You, what's your name?"

"Portgas D. Ace."

Ace answered the black haired man's question, wondering why this school was bothering with uniforms at all, when their staff dressed like that… Really first Smoker's tight blue Jeans and the half opened button-down, then this scared idiot with his Bermudas and colourful shirts and now this guy! The gold eyed man was wearing a pair of tight black leather pants, a long sleeved magenta coloured shirt with flower ornaments on it and a black waistcoat. Both top and vest were opened completely, revealing the man's hard abdomen. Really it made the raven haired teen uncomfortable in his blue and beige themed uniform; he wanted normal cloths back and his hat dammit!

"..new here?"

"Yes, today's my first day here."

Beaming brightly Shanks put a hand on his co-worker's shoulder. Other students and a few teachers passed them, as everyone gathered on the schoolyard to wait for the fire brigade. Giving the teen a hungry look he yapped away merrily and most of all at full volume:

"He's one of Garp's grandsons, Mihawk! Amazing, isn't it! Who would have thought that the old idiot geezer could have a grandchild this hot? He…"

"Oh shut up!"

"Oh shut up!"

Both blackheads snapped at the sae time. Now Shanks got a twin glare out of two pairs of amber eyes. Eeep scary! He stepped back from the two angry men, laughing nervously all the time. He waved his hands in front of his body, trying to show them that he would behave. Ace watched him stroll off to another pupil. He pitied the lanky blonde who was now in the centre of the eccentric teacher's attention:

"Well… welcome to Impel Down High. And yes… this is one of the more normal days…"

With that the instructor moved on, leaving a stunned student behind. Okay so he might have been wrong… well at least partly, the raven thought. He would still miss his friends, and the beach and the bikini clad babes… But he had his doubt that he would be bored anytime soon, given the crazy school staff alone… And then there was this Smoker guy of course. The freckled teenager grinned leisurely. Oh no, he wouldn't be bored at all…

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Educational Measures  
><span>Rating:<span> K+ (for now, M in later chapters)  
><span>Word count:<span> 4.359

Warnings: yaoi, AU, humor, school, drama, romance, WIP  
><span>Author's note:<span> I'll apologize for any mistakes in spelling or grammar I might have made. I am a native German and currently without a beta, so please be kind with my fics. And I am very sorry that it took me so long to write another chapter! Concerning the story, I actually wanted to write some crack and nothing more. But things have changed in my live, things that will take influence on my writing. And while I think that the story will still be funny, there will be also more serious stuff in some chapters. Oh yeah! Like I said, I am German and I don't know much about the educational systems in other countries, at least not enough to base my fic on it. So I made a compromise: I use the English terms (and please don't hurt me if I accidentally mix-up the British and the American definitions!) but I base the actual school on system used in Germany. I fear I will mess up with that one enough at it is :'D  
>I would like to hear what you think about the story, so leave comments! They also motivate me to write faster!<br>Summary: Portgas D. Ace, adoptive grandson of Monkey D. Garp and big brother extraordinaire was forced to changed schools midterm, thanks to his family. Not happy with the situation at all, will his new teachers and possible new friends make his situation better? Or is it possible that it only get worse?  
><span>Disclaimer:<span> I don't make money with my fics and I don't own One Piece or any of the characters they all belong to Oda-sensei, but I have a lot of fun using them C:

**Educational Measures **

**Chapter One**

_- __First classes & teachers are humans too (allegedly) -_

A few minutes after he had managed to escape a certain red-haired teacher and his very busy hands, Ace finally could let his guard down again. With a sigh, the youth rubbed his slightly sore ass. Damn that man! How could that old geezer be so fast? And why the fuck did he had such a freaky obsession with the tanned lad's buttocks? Shaking his head in disbelieve, he shoved that thought aside, not really willing to ponder about it anymore. Instead he leaned back against the low stonewall that enclosed his new school grounds and enjoyed the warm sunlight on his skin. It was a hot, slightly humid day that was only occasionally improved by a slight breeze. Insects were buzzing as they flew around, much to the annoyance of the humans standing in the patio. From time to time a brave sparrow could be seen, as it dared to land on the ground in order to pick up some bread crumbs that had fallen down. But other than that and the few sole trees, shadowing the place, nature seemed to have deserted the area, too much concrete and stones.

Shifting slightly to get into a more comfortable position, the freckled teen let his eyes wander over the yard, taking in the scenario laid out before him. The court was nearly bursting with students at this moment. Like him, the others were waiting for the fire fighters to give them the green-light, so that they could go back to their lessons. Not that they didn't enjoy the unexpected recess they got from the earlier incident. Their merry chatter echoed over the yard as they strolled over the patio, mixing with the sounds of the nearby street and washing over him like a wave. Relaxing further against the rough stone, he let his eyes drop shut for a second, simply enjoying the moment. Like this, his other senses were more tuned in and so he could still detect the lingering scent of burning fabric and chemicals in the air, polluting it with its acrid stench. However there were already other odours washing the stink away, replacing it with the fragrance of freshly cut grass and the typical aroma of the city, which made him miss the salty, tangy smell of his hometown even more.

Opening his eyes with a silent sigh of regret, the black-haired youth noticed the rapt glances directed at him. No surprise here. With his looks and height Ace was used to being the centre of attention and he usually enjoyed it too. Besides he was a new face and that alone would be a guarantor for curious peeks most of the time. Business as usual really. The only thing he found strange about it, was that they noticed him during a fire alarm, where most people should be busy with gawking at the whole spectacle. That thought gave him pause. A bit intrigued now, he watched his co-students with a bit more intensity, noting how little everyone seemed to care for the chaos the explosion had caused. In fact they all looked totally relaxed. Well if that wasn't interesting… and it might be worth some inquiring as well.

With a lazy, but well calculated stretch that revealed a thin stripe of tanned flesh of his hard abdomen, he pushed himself off the fence. As expected, the action was honoured by some high-pitched giggles and squeals. Looking into the general direction off the sounds, he couldn't help but smirk. Bingo. Cocking his head slightly in greeting, Portgas grinned charmingly at the group of girls sitting on one of the many ping pong tables scattered on the yard, watching him like he was some piece of delicious candy. Two members of the gang especially caught his eyes, a sexy ginger and a cutie with long, pale blue hair. Hhmmm, it looked like he might have some chances for bikini clad babes after all… A pool wasn't the beach but hey, he wasn't too picky about that. Smiling the freckled lad made his way towards them with the very intention of getting some phone numbers and of course some information about that detonation.

These hallways sure were chilly, the adolescent though with a slight shiver. There was a minute twitch of his hand at this discovery. It would be easy to change that, a voice whispered into his brain, but he chose to ignore it for now. In order to take his mind off the idea persistently clinging to his consciousness, he tried to recall some old songs, while he looked at his watch. It was already well past the start of the current lesson and he still didn't know were he was supposed to go. Great. Bored he stood in front of the secretary office and waited for that Tsuru woman to show up. Nami, the orange-haired chick from the courtyard had sent him here after hearing about his dilemma. Had wanted some money from him for the info too, thankfully Ace knew ways around paying for shit like that. But hell he had to be careful with that gal, greedy little thing that one. Vivi, the blue haired one, seemed sweet enough at first, but something about her grated on his nerves. He would stay away from both for the time being. Not that he really cared about it much; there were enough other cute girls around here after all… But at least now he knew why everyone had seemed so calm earlier. From what the ladies had told him, there wasn't a week passing by, without something exploding or catching fire during the chemistry lectures. So after a while the students had gotten used to it.

"Excuse me young man, but I need to get into my bureau…"

With a slight start, the youth turned around and saw… nothing? A bit confused the tall teen looked around, but the corridor appeared to be empty.

"Down here. Now if you please could move aside? Why aren't you attending class?"

Turning his head downwards, the youngster looked straight into the face of a small, old woman with a very stern expression. Her pearl white hair was pulled back into a short pony tail that exposed a pair of huge turquoise jewellery dangling from her ears. He wasn't sure if she was a picture of a grandmotherly old lady or if she reminded him more of a retired admiral. Not that it mattered; he gave her a million dollar smile:

"Sorry ma'am but that's actually the reason why I am here. It's my first day and I don't have my schedule yet. So I wanted to see if you might be able to help me out?"

Which made him wonder… where the fuck was Luffy?

"Hmmm… you are a new pupil? Why wasn't I informed? This is most inconvenient. But please, do come in and have a seat. We'll sort this out in a minute."

His smile faltered for the facture of a second after hearing that. He was going to kill his gramps. Seriously now, how hard could it be to inform the school about new attendees? Especially when you worked for said facility? With an irritated shake of his head he followed the elderly secretary into her bureau, hoping that his first actual lesson wouldn't be with that Smoker dude or that perverted redhead… and maybe not chemistry either. Even though Nami had said that even a klutz like Professor Tashigi wouldn't manage to blow up the lab two times in one day…

"What's your name my boy?"

Ugh, why were grown-ups always so insistent on calling him that? He was nearly an adult himself after all! Resisting the urge to either roll his eyes in annoyance or doing other impolite things he forced himself to keep the smile on his face:

"Portgas D. Ace, ma'am, but I might be listed under my grandfather's name… Monkey D. Garp?"

Okay that one earned him a disbelieving stare. Interesting.

"You want to tell me that you are related to him? For real?"

"Yes. Care to explain to me, why everyone seems to doubt that?"

"Because young man, you are by far too well-mannered for that to be possible. Besides, the only one he ever speaks about is a kid called Luffy. Oh well… we are talking about Garp after all."

With that she started to shuffle through a stack of paperwork. After a moment she looked considerably confused, something Ace had the impression didn't happen often.

"We might have a small problem here, Mr. Portgas."

He gave her another bright grin:

"Please call me Ace! And let me guess, there are no information about my brother or me being registered here?"

"Exactly, I fear that you'll have to wait some more, Mr… ehmm Ace. I will sort this out right now. Where is your brother?"

"Thanks a lot! And I wish I know ma'am I haven't seen him since the fire alarm started."

She nodded at that:

"I think I better call out for him then… could you be so nice and fill in this form in the mean time?"

Without really paying attention, she grabbed a large pile of papers, which she handed him together with a pen. A bit wary he leafed through the pages. Why were there so many? He only wanted to attend school after all. When he realized that what he held in his hands had nothing to do with school but was something else entirely, he had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. Putting the papers into his lap, the teen looked up at Mrs. Tsuru, amusement colouring his voice:

"Ehmm…. Why would you need information about my favourite food, colours and… ehmm preferences in my possible sex partner? And what exactly is a soul-mate agency?"

"…"

There was a long moment of silence. But the youth had to give it to the woman; she kept her cool very well:

"Do those papers you have there reek of cheap perfume?"

"Ehmm… Yes?"

There was the slightest twitch of a white eyebrow and a nearly silent sigh, then:

"I fear I gave you the wrong documents. These should be some private files from Professor Iva… probably forgot them here earlier. I am sorry for mix-up. Please put them back on my desk, forget you ever saw them and take these."

Okay~yy… Portgas looked between the papers and the secretary's outstretched hand, while the old lady gave him a shark like smile. This school sure was… remarkable, for a lack of a better word. With that thought in mind, he black-haired adolescent did as he was told, determined not to get into trouble on his first day here… well more than strictly necessary.

Why school corridors always had smell of detergents and stale air not to mention something indefinable nasty, he wondered as he strolled though the now empty hallways in search of his classroom. His footsteps, which echoed over the brownish-grey linoleum floor, were the only sounds he could hear. Every now and then he stopped to take in one of the few pictures that decorated the off-white walls together with footprints and dirt smudges; works from the students done during their art classes as the tags beside them stated. Some were actually pretty good… well at least in his opinion, not that he was a good judge. When it came to drawing he sucked royally. What he was able to tell though was that they failed to brighten up the place; if that was indeed the reason they were hung up here. If at all they simply emphasize the rundown and eerie sentiment of this school. Shaking off the lonesome feeling he got at that thought, Ace read his schedule again: French in room number 241… Letting the fingertips of his right hand trail lightly over the ingrain wallpaper, he passed some more doors and artwork. Studying the plates next to the door frames he tried to figure out where he was supposed to go. Why wasn't there a fucking floor plan of the school anywhere? Well one that showed more than the emergency escape routes that was.

After he passed through yet another of those big, heavy metal doors, he reached some kind of foyer with what appeared to be the school's main stairs. There were only three other exits coming off the large, open room, two of them lead to the toilets, which currently held no interest for him. With loving care he let his fingertips touch the smooth metal of his Zippo hidden in his jeans' pocket. Maybe some other day... The third gate though, a double glass door, separated the lobby from one more part of the building. Oh well he could at least try his luck. For a small town the school sure was huge! The tanned teen doubted that even half of the rooms he came by so far were used. Checking his wristwatch he noted that the lesson would be over soon and to tell the truth, he was more than a little tempted to just skip it. But the punishment, when Garp found out about it, would almost certainly include grounding Ace for at least a week, not to mention the chores the old man would make him do. Dammit. With a pout he continued his search.

238… 239… 240… ah there it was 241! A bit relieved about the fact that he had finally found the correct room, the youth raised his hand to give a courteous knock, when something registered with his brain. The door was pink. A really bright, hot pink that had some glittery hearts painted on it. What the…! For a moment the black-haired teen just stood in the slightly chilly hallway, his mouth slack and his orange-brown eyes widened, totally transfixed by that particular information. Then, with a deep breath, he at last knocked and opened the door. The next thing that crossed his mind was that even a month worth of house arrest and kitchen duty might had been the better choice after all.

"Oh bonjour mon mignon , qui es-tu?" *1

"Eh... Je suis Portgas D. Ace." *2

He gave his new teacher a shaky little smile, trying not to show how stunned he was at what he saw. The guy was huge! And the dark, shiny 4" pumps made him appear even taller. And no, the adolescent wasn't fooled about the professor's gender for a moment. Or better, he denied the possibility of it! There was simply no way, nature could be cruel enough for that. The transvestite was wearing a white satin blouse and a short, black mini skirt. He also used enough makeup to completely coat a room with. A small, ebony hat, adorned with a bunch of dark feathers and a short black veil completed the outfit. Damn… maybe someone should tell him… her… it… ugh whatever, that an afro made a head look even bigger.

"You are a bit late, cher."

A bit? Try nearly late enough to justify not coming at all, the adolescent though with a wry smile. But who was he to object?

"Had to get my schedule… ma'am?"

The sentence was more a question than anything else, but the freckled student had a feeling that the… person in front of him would appreciate the choice of words. He had learned to trust his gut feeling a long time ago, it had saved his ass on many occasions after all. This seemed to be another of those times.

"Pour de vrai? Mouais… Please take a seat, oui? I am mademoiselle Ivankov… but you can call me Iva, mon cher! " *3

Portgas gulped, a bit nervous all of the sudden. He… she… the teacher gave him a flirty smile and winked with those heavily painted, fake lashes and for a short moment of irrational panic, the teen thought that those things might actually attack him. With a nod, he took a seat in the back of the room. Skirting around the weird professor as far as he dared without being obvious about it. Seriously now, what was wrong with the adults at this school? Wasn't there a rule that forbid the faculty to sexually harass scholars or something? He knew he was a good-looking bloke, but this was getting ridiculous! First that groping pervert, who molested him and now this. With a strained groan he let his body slump on one of the empty chairs in the last row. Trying not to listen to the French lesson going on, Ace threw a glance at the wall clock that was positioned over the large blackboard. Only seven more minutes until class was over. Tired, he laid his head on the table. God, he needed a smoke or food… or better yet, both!

Recess – time for spiritual regeneration. Meaning it was time for a strong cup of coffee and cigarettes. The air in the teacher's lounge was heavy with smoke. It clung to every surface in the room, forming a semi-solid curtain that shielded the more solitude individuals from the looks of curious students peeking into the room through the occasionally opened door. The professors had formed small groups, idly chatting with one another, discussing the curriculum as well as private matters, ignoring the pupils outside the room, waiting to ask them some silly, unimportant questions. It was a break dammit and they deserved some moments without being annoyed by a bunch of pubertal teenagers, they got that enough during the lectures. But there were actually some teachers, who at least talked about the scholars:

"I 'ad dze most charming zurprise dzis day" *4

Professor Ivankov told the other people sitting around the round table, seated near one of the large windows, dominating one side of the lounge.

"Did you know dzat we 'ave a new student? And what a beau 'e iz!"

The blue haired drag queen finished with a dreamy smile.

"Is that so? You have to tell Hina more Iva darling!"

The pink-haired woman gave her colleague a lazy, but interested smirk, while she lit her cigarillo. Gossip was slow theses days and a bloke who was called handsome by the French teacher might be worth some inquiring. Or at least he would be good enough to beat the boredom for some time.

"No one told Hina about new scholars being enrolled so late in the term…"

"When you're talking about that eye candy Ace, he's actually Garp's grandson. Hello ladies, mind if I take a seat?"

Not waiting for an answer, Shanks made himself comfortable on the chair between his two co-workers, already fishing his lunch out of his old leather bag and ignoring their astonished stares in favour of sneaking a peek into Hina's very impressive décolleté. The punch he got in return brought him back to reality though. Giving the geology prof a sheepish smile, he pointed behind him, towards the general direction of the coffee machine and the tea maker:

"Sorry dear, I couldn't resist. By the way, I think the old man is actually about to tell us about the lad and Luffy any moment now."

"Luffy…? O vait! Dzat iz Dragon's boy, right? I thought he 'ad only one child, non?"

"Yup he is. And I thought so too, but we're talking about Garp's family here, so…"

The three shared a knowing look, before they turned their attention towards the elderly, loudmouthed man, who was now standing in the middle of the room. The PE instructor was currently busy hitting his teacup with a spoon in order to get everyone's attention, not that his booming voice was guarantee enough for that.

"Everyone listens for a moment! Like I already told you, my grandsons are attending school from now on. They are new in town, so please be nice to them…"

"You haven't told us anything about that, you old goat",

Came a grumbled retort from the corner of the room, where Huntington Smoker was sitting, half hidden by a stack of tests he needed to correct.

"Oh… I didn't? I must have forgotten then! BWUAHAHAHAHA!"

Giving the older male an annoyed stare, the white-haired professor lit himself a pair of cigars. Blowing the bluish-grey smoke into the air the grumpy lecturer stated in a low, irritated voice:

"Do you even give a damn how much trouble you caused for everyone today Garp? Dammit when I caught one of them sneaking off to the roof, I nearly kicked them out of the building because I didn't recognize him as one of our students."

"BWUAHAHAHA! But everything is fine now, right old chap! Now… has anyone seen my rice crackers?"

With that he simply dropped the matter and went in search for his snacks, leaving his colleagues in stunned silence. Inhaling and exhaling the harsh tasting smoke slowly, the pale educator counted to ten silently in the vain hope to actually calm down. There were days he would like nothing more than to strangle the old PE professor, this was one of them. Not that what happened today was really a reason to get angry about; everyone here knew that the eccentric man was getting more and more senile… But something about the whole situation upset the tall teacher; enough to actually get involved into a colleague's private matters against his better judgment. With a sigh he stood up and followed his co-worker towards the small kitchen area, deliberately ignoring his red-haired idiot, who soon joined them there.

"Garp, I know it's not really my business, but you need to show some responsibility towards your grandsons. They are just kids and need someone to look after them, especially now that they are in a new environment. You can't expect them or others to clean up your mess, like today."

That not only earned him a glare from the older man, but also a friendly slap on his shoulder and a wide grin from Shanks.

"I have to say that for once I actually agree with Mr. Grumpy here! You can't simply forget about stuff like that. They need supervision and someone they could actually trust and talk to. What happened today isn't the best way to show them that you're that person, you know?"

The PE instructor looked genuinely confused at this. Stroking his beard he seemed to think of something to say, then his dark brown eyes lit up as a thought struck him. Knowing that expression rather well, the other two got a very uneasy feeling all of the sudden.

"BWUAHAHAHA, you're right boys! But I have a brilliant idea! Why don't you two help me look after them from now on?" 

"THAT'S NOT WHAT WE MEANT YOU OLD FOOL!"

The outburst was emphasized by Smoker's fist hitting the nearest wall with a loud, crashing sound, getting everyone's attention. Interested now, the rest of the staff watched the small scene enfolding before them. Finally some new material to chat about:

"I actually think that idea is quiet good. If Smokey here doesn't want to I would be glad to take care of both of them."

The three scars running over his left eye, wrinkled with laughter, when he said that, knowing very well, that after that little stunt during the fire-alarm, his bad-tempered co-worker would never allow him anywhere near Ace without other people around to ensure the boy's safety. That man was a sucker for kids after all and would do nearly everything to protect them, when he deemed it necessary. And given the death glare he received for his little comment, the pale teacher was very aware about being tricked into agreeing to this plan in the end. Not that the biology professor gave a damn about forcing Hunt's hand; after all as result, he himself would be able to fool around with Luffy once more. Benn and his other buddies would be delighted to have the energetic youngster around again! It was a bit disappointing though that he wouldn't be able to have some quality time with the older brother. It would have been fun to play with the gorgeous bloke. Oh well, there would always be a chance for that later. After all, he already had something planned for the next biology lesson, which might help him with that predicament. With an evil little grin he turned his attention back to the other two men.

"Now listen Garp, you cannot push those two off to someone else simply because you're too overwhelmed with the situation or what ever other shitty excuse you wanna pull… And before you start agreeing with that moron over there you should now that he had tried to mo- ouch!"

Another angry stare was shot into Shanks direction, while the tall man rubbed his aching shin. After succeeding to interrupt the burly teacher with a strong kick, the red-head only smiled:

"I have tried to moderately welcome Ace here! He's such a good boy! Don't you agree Smoker?"

"I bloody hate you! Ehmm… Yeah… I think he might be… somewhat."

"Ah, so you already know them! Good, very good. Well then it's decided! Shanks you used to take care of Luffy from time to time, so I assume that you're willing take care of him again! And Huntington… you can take care of Ace! Yes I am brilliant! BWUAHAHAHA!"

Ignoring the gruff professor's pissed of expression; the oldest of them just sipped his tea. Happy that he had found a solution for taking care of his grandchildren and still being able to have time to go to the golf course and meeting his girlfriend. Life was good. The biology teacher, practically feeling the angry vibes coming off the pale man besides him, tried to sneak away, but a firm grip on his Hawaiian shirt forced him to stop, good two inches about the ground. Oh shit….

"You'll better make him change his mind, or I'll seriously gonna hurt you…"

Okay… maybe he should give a damn about forcing the pale man into something

TBC

*1) "Oh bonjour mon mignon , qui es-tu?" – roughly: Hello pretty one, who are you ?

*2) "Je suis Portgas D. Ace." – I am Portgas D. Ace.

*3) "Pour de vrai? Mouais…" – For real? Very well then…

*4) please forgive me, I simply couldn't resist giving Iva-chan a horrible French accent :'D


End file.
